Bringing the character of Jason Bourne to life from Robert Ludlum’s Novel ‘The Bourne Identity’, Doug Liman did an excellent job with making the series without CGI. I remember seeing the preview of ‘The Bourne Identity’ back in 2002 and thought this movie seems to be good. A friend of mine had read the original work and was a fan of the character Bourne himself. After the movie what we talked about was only the movie, the moves and the way the director made the movie without CGI. Later we found out that Robert Ludlum had written another two books, making it a three part series, to finish of the story of the movie.
Then ‘The Bourne Supremacy’ hit the theaters and it gave the series a reason to watch where Bourne is bent on finding his past and hitting hard at what ever was in his path stopping him. The story picks up immediately where the first part left off. Marie and Bourne in India still running away from who ever that is trying to kill Bourne. The first sequence in the movie shows a robbery and killing where one of the killers leave a thumb print that traces back to Bourne, which initiates the hunt for him again. While in India Marie is shot in the head from the rear by one of the Assets (Assassins). Bourne watches her die when their vehicle goes off the road into a river. Burning all her memories (Photos), Bourne goes on a rampage looking for the killer and finally avenging Marie’s death in the end in Russia.
‘The Bourne Supremacy’ follows the same path as its predecessor with out CGI and with the same hard hitting action. The star cast remained the same but this time there was an introduction of a new character named Pamela Landy, task force chief of CIA in Langley. She believes that Bourne is not of the character her fellow CIA officials want her to believe. She is the one that tells him that his real name is Jason Bourne and he was born on 4-15-71. Bourne is constantly watching her from rooftops and in the end he tells her “have some rest mem, you look tired”.
‘The Bourne Ultimatum’ the third and final (hope not) in the series sums up the story. It again picks up immediately after ‘The Bourne Supremacy’ (in the tunnels off Russia, Bourne ramming the Asset, in a van, into a beam). Bourne escapes (in a ghostly manner) from the Russian police and heads to a nearby pharmacy to nurse his left shoulder. This movie introduces another character named Noah Vosen who is bent on killing Bourne. Pamela Landy is still helping Bourne in any way possible to have him come in discuss the matter. The movie was shot in the best of locations making the movie bigger and better then its predecessors (watch for the mall scene). Bourne escapes from a number of attempts at his life. There is a similar tunnel scene that its predecessor had involving another asset this time.
All three of the movies were excellently made, the cast was superb in the roles they were given. All three have proven to be a hit in the cinema history and now movie makers say that Matt Damon is a bankable actor, you give him a movie and you are sure to get your money’s worth. The factor to note in this series is that the three movies were made by two directors, Doug Liman (‘The Bourne Identity’) and Paul Greengrass making the second and the final one. The feel to the movie wasn’t altered in any way even though there was a different person behind the wheel of the other two movies. I would review these movies 9/10.
Ps: Wikipedia has articles about another two Jason Bourne novels, written by Eric Van Lustbader titled ‘The Bourne Legacy’ and ‘The Bourne Betrayal’. According to the article in Wikipedia, ‘The Bourne Legacy’ wasn’t received the way it was expected. The last novel ‘The Bourne Betrayal’ was to be released a few weeks before the premiere of the third installment in 2007.
